My Circus but Not My Monkeys: Navigating Animals in Pediatric Healthcare

Session Description: What do you get when an owl, a horse, a dog, and a bunny walk into a pediatric hospital? A really nervous Infection Preventionist! Our pediatric facility Infection Prevention team has been asked to allow zoo animals, personal pets, service animals, and even a horse to visit our hospital. This session will describe how we collaborate with multiple departments, including Patient Relations and Child Life Specialists, to develop a safe plan for these visits. We will share our experience with selecting animal-approved patient populations and locations within the facility. This session will also explore an important skill for the Infection Preventionist- the ability to say no. Defining populations and locations that are too high-risk to allow animals is essential for safety. Learn to balance support of these experiences with protecting patients by planning and developing a policy covering all aspects of animals in healthcare.